* This controversy was tailor-made for an otherwise routine veto session day with a packed press box. Here’s the Tribune…

A Democratic state lawmaker said she wanted to pump a lethal “broth of Legionella” bacteria into the water system of a Republican colleague’s family, during heated remarks on the Illinois House floor over a bill aimed at helping families of more than a dozen residents at the Downstate Quincy veterans home who died of Legionnaires’.

The bill would raise limits on damages in some state Court of Claims cases from $100,000 to $2 million, which could affect the victims’ families, who allege the state was negligent in the deaths that resulted from outbreaks at the veterans home over the past three years. Gov. Bruce Rauner rewrote the proposal over the summer to reduce such caps on damage awards to $300,000, but lawmakers voted Tuesday to override him.

During the House floor debate over the proposal, Republican state Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard questioned some of the plan’s details, contending the state doesn’t know how much it will cost. Breen, the outgoing House GOP floor leader, noted that multiple tort claims could be paid out for the same incident.

“And, yes, we know the personal injury lawyers are going to make out like bandits, which they tend to do anytime they come to the General Assembly,” Breen said.

The “broth of Legionella” reference is explained here.

* Dave Dahl…

State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego), referring to Breen, said, “I’d like to make him a broth of legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved one, so that they can be infected, they can be mistreated, they can sit and suffer by getting aspirin instead of being properly treated, and ultimately die.”

Breen’s mic was not on when he shouted something about “my f—in’ family.”

Kifowit later said her remarks were misinterpreted and that she was making a hypothetical statement: “Imagine if it were your family.”

* Sun-Times…

After Kifowit’s remarks, state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, quickly came to Breen’s defense saying the Oswego Democrat “essentially wished a death on a Republican floor speaker.”

“How dare you. How dare you concoct up some sort of story about brewing up some batch of Legionella and having him feed it to his family. How dare you take the discussion and the debate about a very serious bill that has a huge cost consequence on both sides, both for the victim and the state taxpayers. How dare you take an honest debate about an issue and then wish death on my colleague Peter Breen, his wife and his two adopted kids,” Ives said. […]

Kifowit, herself, sought to clarify her comments — saying she “quite clearly” wanted him to imagine “if it was your family, hypothetically speaking.”

“For the fact of it being misrepresented, I’m going to say that what was said earlier is a mischaracterization of what my words were,” Kifowit said on the House floor. “And for that, for it being misinterpreted, I will apologize. But I will not apologize for what happened to those families. And I will clearly say to all of us, imagine if it was your family.”

* The former Marine just about killed the override with her remarks…

Three Republican lawmakers who had voted in favor of the bill in May — including Breen — switched their votes from yes to no. Four other Republicans who voted yes were either absent for Tuesday’s vote or chose not to vote.

The motion received the bare minimum of 71 votes.

* With thanks to Dave Dahl, here’s the full audio of her remarks…

Rep. Kifowit told me last night that she was “trying to paint a picture” with her words and that she didn’t intend to wish actual harm on Rep. Breen’s family.

Leave the painting to painters.

There’s just no excuse for stuff like this. She should own up to her remarks and fully retract what she said, which is different than what she claims to have said or meant.

* Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider…

Today, Illinois Democrats sunk to a new low, when Democratic State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit wished death upon family members/loved ones of her Republican colleague, State Rep. Peter Breen. Kifowit should be ashamed of her remarks. Since Rep. Kifowit has refused to apologize to Rep. Breen, she should resign from office, as these remarks are unfit for someone serving public office.

Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker appointed Rep. Kifowit to his “Serving Illinois’ Heroes Committee” earlier this month. Does the Governor-elect condone Kifowit’s rhetoric? Will he keep her on his committee?

As leading Illinois Democrats, both Governor-elect Pritzker and Speaker Michael Madigan have a duty to speak out against Rep. Kifowit’s extreme rhetoric and tone down out-of-control public discourse. They should do so immediately.

*** UPDATE *** Rep. Kifowit…

“I offer my sincere apology to Representative Peter Breen, his family, and all of my House colleagues for my poor choice of words during a serious discussion on our Veterans’ health and safety. I would never wish any harm or mortality on anyone’s family, including the Breen family. As a Marine Corps Veteran, I feel very passionate about what happened in our Quincy Veterans home, which resulted in 13 Veterans and 1 spouse’s deaths, in addition to over 70 individuals being ill. The truth is this did happen to our heroes, and my attempt to illustrate empathy for the families that were affected by the loss of their loved ones was not conveyed properly.

“Lost in my comments yesterday was our obligation to work together on behalf of our Veterans to ensure that the situation in Quincy never happens again. As legislators, we are fallible people, but we are tasked with the tremendous responsibility of caring for the Veteran men and women who have never let us down. We owe them so much more.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues to expand access to health care and mental health resources for our Veterans.”

…Adding… Sun-Times…

A Pritzker spokeswoman issued a statement Wednesday saying it was “clear that during the course of an emotional debate over the Legionnaires’ crisis in Quincy Representative Kifowit’s rhetoric went too far and she rightfully apologized.”

The statement continued that Pritzker wanted to “keep the focus on protecting” veterans, and that Pritzker “looks forward to working with” the Serving Illinois’ Heroes Committee “to ensure the administration is ready to serve Veterans on day one in office.”